Peter Pan Seafoods has introduced a policy requiring workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, the company announced on Wednesday, Sept. 1.
Company officials said that with the ongoing pandemic it is important that staff are vaccinated for their own protection and for that of fellow employees, as well as for the communities they work in.
The policy will go into effect in tiers, with the first tier including those employed at corporate headquarters in Bellevue, Wash., the company’s Seattle warehouse, and processing and support facilities in Valdez, Dillingham, Port Moller, Sand Point and Naknek. Of the employees included in tier one, 95.26% are already vaccinated.
Peter Pan’s policy does not apply to its fleet, but company leaders have encouraged the fleet to get vaccinated and have made vaccines available to the fleet since April.
“This policy gives employees peace of mind, especially in an industry like ours where a positive case could mean shutting down an entire facility for a period of time,” said Rodger May, president and chief growth officer at Peter Pan. “Another benefit is for our workers who come from outside of the U.S. Many other parts of the world don’t have the access to vaccines that we have. When our employees get here, no matter where they come from, we make sure they have access to the COVID-19 vaccine.”
